Straight Six 230 side plate leak

Like the title says, the rear side plate on the passenger side of the engine is leaking. I took it off to inspect the gasket and found it to be useless like a piece of old crusty bacon. So I removed the gasket, cleaned up the plate with some degreaser and applied some of that squeeze-on gasket in a tube. The same kind for sealing oil pans. After letting it cure for 24 hours and a quick drive, it still leaks. I saw some chrome sideplates on lmc.com, but I called and they weren't sure if they came with the gaskets or not. So my questions are these:

- Should I attempt another round of squeeze-on gasket?
- Buy the set of chrome side plates from LMC and hope they include the gaskets?
- Buy some gasket material and make my own using the remaining front side plate gasket as a template?
- Have any of you had similar leaks?

Thanks,
Charlie
65 Chevy Panel
Straight Six 230
3-speed manual

You could always just go the local parts place a buy gaskets .

When you say , squeeze on gasket , what exactly are you talking about? there are several defferent materials and each have to be use in an exact manner or they wont work. Especialy RTV Silicon.

You need to inspect the cover for cracks, and also the bolts need to be properly sealed.

M1D

clean the side cover well in the gasket valley and bond the cork gasket on with gasgacinch ( gasket glue ) let it sit till it is bonded then install side cover without over torquing should take care of leak. Also check the lifter area for any obstructions that would cause it to not allow the oil to drain back to the pan.

Good point Whopman.
If the oil dosn't return fast enough to the pan the lifter area will flood and almost no gasket can retain that.

Charlie another thought on the rear side cover leaking....it may not be the side cover...it is possible the oil pressure sending unit is leaking it does come loose from time to time or gets a hairline crack in it....check to make sure it is tight and not tricking you into thinking it is the side cover thats leaking...

I currently have a plug in it but you can see the oil pressure fitting goes here.

Althought I haven't checked the oil pressure inlet, I did notice that the oil is coming out all along the bottom of the rear plate. I can't check this right now as my van is at a friend's house getting sanded and painted. I am thinking that I will need to buy/make/install a new cork gasket and double check the oil pressure inlet for cracks or if its loose. Thanks for the help guys. If you have any other ideas, please post them.

The gasket that I previously installed was from a tube. It was made for making gaskets/sealing oilpans. I figured that would work. The name of it was something with the word "Black" in it. Maybe I didn't let it set up enough before I squeezed it on and it got to thin in some areas.

just bought the entire gasket set for 32 bucks. side cover gasket cant be over 10.00. that black goop is o.k. in a pinch BUT you cant let it get hard as it will only be as true as you can spread it. if you just put it on and tighten, it oozes out. i usually put some on both parts, let it tack up a few minutes and set peices in place WITHOUT TIGHTENING. tighten a few hours later. more than enough time to go back to parts store, return the 6.00 tube of goop and buy the 10.00 gasket.

I'm sure it's leaking from the side panels, there is no sign of fresh oil above the panels. I didnt real get a good feeling when I put that goop on. Did like you guys said and found the fel-pro gaskets from autozone.com. They should be here in a couple days. should do the trick.

So it turns out that Whopman was right. Not only was the gasket leaking, but it looks like the oil pressure sensor is leaking as well. After I put the gasket on, it stopped a majority of the leak, but it is still coming from below the sensor. So how do I either stop the leak from the sensor or remove the sensor and cap the hole? If it is cracked, what then?

install a new sensor !! - also seal the new sensorsthreads with a sealer- I use teflon tape - yet be careful if using as you DO NOT !! want any tape inside the oil galley at all!


something most of us likely know - do not use the RTV type tube sealers on amything that is close to gasonine( carn gaskets) as has will destroy the stuff-=not sealing

Installed the new sensor and stopped the leaks. Can't believe I didn't think if that before. I'm still learning what is an easy fix and what takes some serious time. Thanks for the reply and solution.

I have the same problem. I cleaned the groove where the gasket goes, put a thin coat of RTV, put the gaskets on and it is pouring out of the bottom. I am not sure if they are over torqued or not either. I have a reproduction of the the original service manual and nowhere can I find what to torque the bolts at. So now what do I do to fix this? I am stumped. HELP!!

donivan65! Thanks for the info. It is not leaking on the plate nearest the firewall yet! Not the oil sending unit or valve cover. You can see the oil coming out of the bottom of the of the front plate. I will take it off and see if it is bent. Should have done it before I put it on. If not I will do what you said! Rotate! Finally some good info! Thanks

I second on the cork and be sure and use the new
washers on the bolts. If you get the chrome ones
be sure and scratch the surface that the gasket fits
into with some 40 grit sand paper, helps seal, the
chorme is too slick. this trick works on oil pans and
tranny pans too.

Got the leak fixed! Thanks guys!. NOW my new problem. When I had the engine out I installed a new oil pump. I forgot to prime it before I put my engine in. I have no oil pressure. How long can I run the engine til I hope to see some pressure? What can I do trouble shoot the issue? I am stumped. The engine has run for about 2 or 3 minutes so far. I know I have enough oil in it. I checked to make sure, put some oil in the filter before i installed it. Help!

Be careful with any sort of RTV gasket goop as it can fall into your engine and as it is somewhat indestructable it is better at sealing an important oil passage than it is at sealing covers. Cork is great because after install it soaks up a little oil and expands itself for a better seal. I'll always take cork over rubber if I can get it.

What are you using for an oil pressure guage? If it was leaking it had to be moving oil I'd think.

NO RTV. The leak happened when I was putting the oil in. What happened is the gasket did not get set properly. All good now. No leaking but no pressure. I am using an after market gauge that was on the truck previously and it worked before. The gauge moves o so slightly once in awhile. The oil sending unit is not leaking.
Thank your assistance! much Appricated